How to document migraine headaches for your doctor?

I am one of the lucky ones in life because I’ve never broken a bone. It’s possibly the result of being an overly cautious child, and the fact that I always drank my milk to ensure healthy bone growth. While other kids in my elementary school were coming to class with casts and fun stories to impress strangers, I was preserving my bone health for later in life. Broken bones are painful, and I’ll be ok with the way my life turns out if I never experience a broken bone. That may not happen, though. However, as an individual who likes to look on the bright side, it’s usually easy to tell if you have a broken bone. A simple x-ray will determine if your bone is broken, and how severe it is too. If you tell people you have a broken bone, most people won’t question if you are suffering or not. That’s not the same for every condition, though. This can cause an issue for some Social Security Claims.

When the other kids were having issues with their broken bones, I was suffering from quite a different type of pain, migraine migraines. Migraines aren’t as easy to detect as a broken bone. First of all, you don’t get a colorful cast for your classmates to sign. Second, there isn’t really a good way to diagnose a migraine condition, especially in situations in which head trauma does not occur. Trust me, I know this from experience. I had to have x-rays on my head to make sure I didn’t have a TBI. There I was, a first-grader, suffering from excruciating pain.  Twenty-five years later I’ve only experienced pain worse than that once in my life. However, that we will be something I talk about when we cover kidney health. So, stay tuned.

With extensive testing over the course of the year, my doctor said that I would simply “grow out of the condition.” He was right. Eventually, the migraines went away, and I could live like a real boy again. If you’re reading this, you’re likely an adult suffering from migraines and have had issues getting your Social Security to claim approved. You likely relate to my struggle to find a cause. There is also a good chance that you are struggling to convey the gravity of your pain to your doctor. If so, one thing we encourage our clients to do is document all their migraines in a log.

A migraine log, or journal,  is quite easy to keep. Simply get yourself a small notebook and keep track of all of your migraines or migraines. Be sure to make note of when a migraine occurs, how long it lasts, the pain intensity, and what you did to alleviate the pain. A log like this can be used to help prove that your condition is disabling. This is especially true if your migraines interfered with your work performance. In other words, if you ever missed work or had to leave early because of your migraines, that will also help your argument. If you take prescription medication for your migraines, note that in your log as well. Our office can also provide you with a migraine log that it already set up.

While I mostly discussed migraines today, a log is a great way to document other conditions too. If you have issues with panic/anxiety attacks a log will be a great way to show your doctor how frequently they occur. This is also true for individuals who have seizures. I’ve even been told to use a log to document my blood pressure.

Simply put, a log is just another piece of evidence that can be used to help your case. Medical evidence is what wins cases, and this is one of the small ways you can provide more evidence to support your claim. If you’d like to know more about our services, or if you’d like to sign up for a free consultation, call our toll-free number now. It’s 1-877-526-3457. If you can’t talk now, fill out this form so that we may call you at a better time.